Macron eyes next stage in revolution in parliament polls

Paris : French voters head to the polls on Sunday for parliamentary elections set to hand a landslide victory to the party of President Emmanuel Macron which would complete his stunning reset of national politics.

The new assembly is due to be transformed with a new generation of lawmakers -- younger, more female and more ethnically diverse -- winning seats in the afterglow of Macron's success in presidential elections last month.

The scale of the change is set to be so significant that some observers have compared the overhaul to 1958, the start of the present presidential system, or even the post-war rebirth of French democracy in 1945.

It is also entirely unexpected: Macron was unknown three years ago and initially given little chance of emerging as president, but he and his 15-month-old Republic on the Move (REM) party have tapped into widespread desire for change.

"It's like a science fiction movie for me," REM candidate Beatrice Failles, a weapons inspector, writer and community activist, told AFP this week during campaigning in Paris. 

REM is forecast to win between 400 and 470 seats in the 577-strong parliament, one of the biggest majorities post-war that would give pro-EU centrist Macron a free hand to implement his business-friendly programme.

Sunday's voting is the decisive second round of the election after a first round of voting last weekend which was topped by REM.

If confirmed, the victory will come at the expense of France's traditional parties, the rightwing Republicans and Socialists, but also the far-right National Front which faces major disappointment.

The Socialists are set to be the biggest victim of voters' desire to reject establishment figures associated with years of high unemployment, terror attacks and lost national confidence.

Pollsters predict the party will see its strength in parliament fall from nearly 300 seats to around 20 after their five years in power under president Francois Hollande.